KOALA

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Latest news

Divers sealing holes in the hull

Divers from the Baltic branch of the Marine Rescue Service have sealed two of the three holes in the stern of the 'Koala'. Work was underway to seal the third and final one. The divers were expected finish the sealing of all damage to the hull from the outside by the evening of Feb 17, after which they may begin pumping water out of the cargo pump shaft on the starboard side to provide access to the interior for specialists to work. The engine room, where explosions were heard beforehand, has not yet been inspected. Three aft fresh water tanks were previously pumped out. At the same time, the fuel oil was being heated for pumping out, with steam being supplied from the shore. At the moment, no fuel oil has been detected in the water. Several versions of what happened are being considered, including sabotage with limpet mines. Report with photo: https://en.topwar.ru/259584-dve-iz-treh-vodolazy-prodolzhajut-zadelyvat-proboiny-v-bortu-zatonuvshego-v-portu-ust-lugi-tankera-koala.html

Inspections of shadow fleet tanker ad preparations to remove oil going on

Marine Rescue Service divers continued to inspect the starboard side of the 'Koala', and a third hull rupture has been discovered, Specialists have developed technologies for sealing the damage on the port side of the tanker and provided drawings with the dimensions of the holes. Preparations were underway to pump out fuel oil from the tanker. Ust-Luga terminal employees were installing steam pipes to warm up the cargo, and equipment is being adjusted. The Marine Rescue Service specialists were working on safe options for supplying steam from the shore. The emergency rescue vessel "Spasatel Karev" of the Baltic branch of the Marine Rescue Service has arrived in the area of ​​the incident, which is ready to combat oil spills if necessary. The owner of the tanker, the Dahila International Co., must take measures to remove the damaged vessel from the port waters within three months. The tanker is associated with Latvian citizen Alexey Khalyavin. The vessel is managed by the Cypriot company Lagosmarine, the nominal owner is a Greek citizen, and the real beneficiary is Khalyavin. Companies associated with Khalyavin are among the largest buyers of Russian oil bypassing the price ceiling. Israel accused Lagosmarine of transporting Iranian oil in the interests of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the pro-Iranian Shiite group Hezbollah, which is recognized as terrorist in the United States. At the beginning of the year, Lagosmarine was included in the American sanctions list as part of the Russian shadow fleet Reports with photos: https://ru.krymr.com/a/avariya-tankera-koala-na-baltike-razdolbaystvo-ili-terakt/33312666.html https://www.fontanka.ru/2025/02/13/75104501/

Tanker may have been damaged by limpet mines

The 'Koala' was suspected to have been damaged by limpet mines, according to the Ambrey Intelligence. The incident came after other ships with “a similar trading profile” have been damaged by explosions. The 'Koala' is suspected to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet. The three blasts in the aft section resulted in one hole measuring 1x0.8 metres and two larger holes of 4x2 metres in the hull, which strongly suggested that the explosions were caused by limpet mines. If confirmed, their use would point to a sabotage operation targeting Vladimir Putin’s “shadow fleet” which is being used to try to bust sanctions on oil trade with Russia. No leaks of oil have been reported, and the cargo tanks were all believed to be intact. The vessel has been boomed off as a precautionary measure. The next step for the salvors will beto lighter the cargo of 130,000 tonnes of mazut, which is so thick that it must be heated in order to pump it. However, the boiler is located n the engine room, and this has filled with seawater. Russia's Marine Rescue Service (Morspas) was working on alternative means of heating the cargo with steam so that it can be pumped off, and special pumps have been delivered from the port of Murmansk for the purpose of removing the thick, sludgy oil.